Scruffy but charming (Naples)

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Naples
Date:	05/08/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some major landmarks

Disadvantages: A lot of dodgy people about, especially near train station

I can never quite bring myself to say Naples, being a football fan I've always wanted to call it Napoli and think that our British version makes it sound pretty horrible! Which of course to some extent, it actually is!

Arriving at Naples train station in the evening, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were no longer in Italy, zombies abound this is the heart of the scruffy downtown area filled with beggars and odd balls, it makes the Bucuresti Nord train station look like a royal palace.

The first thing notable to me was how dirty the streets were, this area in particular was strewn with all kinds of litter and there were piles of rubbish everywhere, one chap even using one a black bin bag full of trash as a pillow.

I wasn't too bothered by this after all, I was only passing through and this wasn't my destination, I began looking for a cheap hotel that I'd found on the internet earlier, it looked good on the map - after all it was close to the station. That of course, was also its downfall, lieing in some grubby streets nearby which by the signs of the leather-clad, bright red lipstick adorning paroxide blondes also doubled up as a red light district.

I didn't have the best night's sleep, a combination of passing mopeds and arguments in the street prevented me from getting too much shut eye but you can't expect too much relaxation in Italy. The next day, I had a couple of hours to kill before heading further south and I'm sure my Napoli experience would have been considerably better had I the time to visit either the Amalfi Coast or Mount Vesuvius.

I had a potter around the busy streets and decided that it looked much better in the day, although there were a still more undesirable sorts than your average Italian city it seemed to have a certain charm, the harbour was rather nice, Castel Nuovo (as seen in the photo here) is a nice landmark to visit.

I'm quite a fan of pizzas and was keen to try the typical Neapolitan pizza in its birth place, despite being a very simple pizza made up of just tomato sauce, olive oil and basil, it was absolutely delicious and a worthy meal to keep hunger locked up for the day.

Overall, I think that if I was staying for longer and visiting the aforementioned nearby destinations, I'd probably enjoy myself. Watch out for pickpockets though, there seems a lot of untoward activity going on!

Summary: Not as beautiful as many an Italian city but worth a visit